КАТАЛОГ СATALOG

ПРОТИ-ДІЯ RE-ACTION
Angelina Kariakina,
Hromadske.TV journalist, moderator of the program
“If you had experienced what we did, you
would be on our side,” shouts a short woman
in a pink sweater into the faces of armed
soldiers. This is Michoacán, Mexico. A group
of local ‘self-defenders’ decided to oppose
the drug cartels on their own. The military,
who came to disarm them, have to retreat.
This is Cartel Land by Matthew Heineman,
an incredible story of resistance against the
drug mafia. Having survived the winter of
2014, it seems that we have nothing left to
learn about protests, activism, and volunteer
movements. In fact, there actually is a lot to
learn. First of all, the stories behind every
(re)action. They are often very personal,
which means they are also very political.
This year’s RE-ACTION program offers three
films which bring us as close as possible to
protagonists who dare – each of them in
their own way – to oppose a certain system.
Why them, out of thousands of people? What
pushes them to resist? Do their actions
become grounds for systemic changes?
How to Change the World by Jerry Rothwell
is about an initiative born from the activity
of a couple of enthusiasts. At some point,
it will grow up to become Greenpeace. But
before that, the protagonists will go through
some circles of real political life. Changing
the world – is it still the goal for those who
have created the movement? Could it have
been created by someone else who would
have formulated the goal differently?
“I would be happy if it was possible to close
orphanages,” claims pastor Hennadiy, the
protagonist of the third film in the program
(Almost Holy by Steve Hoover). Hennadiy
created the Pilgrim Republic, a rehabilitation
center for street children in Mariupol. The
film follows his life for a couple of years.
Here the pastor pulls teenage drug addicts
out of cellars and helps to treat, support and
teach them. And here he practically deprives
an alcoholic mother of the right to keep her
daughter and takes the girl into his center.
Will we be able to come close enough to
these heroes to understand their actions,
however complicated they seem? This is
the question asked by real cinema. Complex,
multidimensional, just like real protests.
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